So I bought these grilles and took it to BMW/MINI repair place and there I found out that the lower grill will not fit properly..you will have to require to cut away the back part of the bumper?? and the grill also..to make it look flushed..as I did not want it to stand out. They dont do work like this. Anyway what i wanted to know is do all you guys do this? what if you want to revert back to stock?

 

Requires a fair amount of custom cutting and trial fits, of both the lower aero grill portion and the bumper cover. Once done, can't really revert to stock.

 

actually you need to do some cutting on the back of the lower grill piece and simply enlarge a couple of the slot holes in the bumper cover. If done right it is reversable altho having installed a half dozen of these for folks over the years I've never had anyone come back for a reversal.

There is/was a good DIY here that I can no longer find - p.m. me an e-mail that will take an attachment and I can send it to you as a pdf.

You'll want a good variable speed Dremel tool with a cutting wheel and a cutting bit. The DIY recommends taking the bumper cover off and I find that it is easier if you do that but can be accomplished w/out. Taking the cover off is very easy.

 

thanks for response. what about the clips thats on the grill? do you require to get new clips molded onto the grill?

 

is it possible to perhaps cut away a certain amount of the border (thickness), with the clips cut out and stick it down with glue? will it be flushed this way? and would the glue hold?

 

I've done this mod, and I believe the fitting 'pocket' is a bit bigger then the grill it self so you can't glue it around the edges. To get it to sit perfectly, you have to trim away the edges and cut holes into your bumper for where the new clips are. Take your time with it. Expect about 6 hours of work.

 

the top piece will just screw right in if you don't break anything getting the original part out.

There are no clips on the lower piece, only tabs on the piece that run into slots in the bumper cover. Unfortunately the original tabs and the Aero tabs are in different places, so the method I've used and outlined in the DIY searches for a compromise to use portions of the new tabs and the existing holes with expansion to get a good grip. You could simply cut down the Aero Grill lower piece, removing all the tabs, and glue it in but a) this is almost certainly NOT reversable; and b) I've seen folks screw this up royally as they try to get glue to hold, and create a huge mess. (glue ran down the bumper and it still doesn't hold . . . that's when they came to me for help . . too late) If you go that route consider skuffing the surfaces for glue grab.

The original lower part is held in by some locating tabs and some double sided tape. You can't use the tape method because the new grill is 'pourous' ... that is the tape would block the see-thru. That's why you try to cut new slots in the bumper cover (in the recess the grill piece sits in) to hold the piece w/out glue. BTW - this double sided tape is what you are fighting when you try to remove the existing lower grill piece. I find the application of heat from a blow dryer, and pressing out from the bumper cover removed and on a work surface works well. You can also apply heat and just PULL from the front.

& On the other hand ... anything is possible ... and I suppose others have put this on other ways. This is what I've done. To customer satisfaction.. more than once. No one has haggled the price: zero but some have donated a bottle of John J

bring it over and we'll do the job in an afternoon with a Guiness break or two

 

thanks a lot for your help and input, I really appreciate it. If I could bring it around to you I would.

One more thing, When you remove the original lower grill, there are those protruding fins on the bumper..how does this work when you fit the grill? do you have to cut this away to get a perfect fit? if you dont cut it away will the grill not sit flush? and also if u do cut it away then is it not reversible to stock again?

thanks once again

 

'protruding fins'? not sure what you are talking about.... but I think I got it now.

The lower grill is really two pieces. The lip or border is a piece held on by some tabs that fit into holes in a recess shapped like the grill, in the bumper cover. Then there is the horizontal slat, body color on an S and chrome on a Justa. If you mean the horizontal slat, yes you do remove it in part. The slat is a top cover held to a support beneath by double sided tape. This top cover is the piece you remove and as I mentioned, some heat will soften the glue. You do NOT cut it out .... well I suppose you could .... by removing the cover there is enuf room for the new Aero piece to fit flush once properly cut down. This slat will be visible thru the Aero Grill tho so you probably want to make it black. You can paint it - lengthing the time required as you wait for the paint to dry. I just cover it with some black plastic electrical tape. Reversal means take the tape off and glue the original piece back on. If you were to cut out the slat entirely the process would be much more difficult to reverse.

Cutting the slat out will not make fitting the lower grill easier. The recess in the Aero bumper cover is deeper then the stock - the Aero grill unmodified is too thick for the stock bumber cover.

also p.m. sent

 

I am about to purchase an Aero Grill for out 06' S. Anyone recommend the best quality/fit kit that is available?

 

I have the upper and middle Aero grilles for sale if anyone is looking for a set. PM me for details.